


bare you my soul

by hiya_zelda (hiya_girlie)



Series: the best things in life are furry (wolf link shenanigans) [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Some Fluff, Some pining, Zelda Needs a Hug, starring wolf link and very depressed zelda, super light but its there, two people with feelings, wolf link is very huggable and fluffy, ”I’m gonna write some fluff”, ”Oh god that’s angst I’m an idiot”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25429444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiya_girlie/pseuds/hiya_zelda
Summary: A late night and some heavy thoughts.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: the best things in life are furry (wolf link shenanigans) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857157
Kudos: 59





	bare you my soul

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaliaIsBoring](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliaIsBoring/gifts).



> Thank you for the suggestion, surprisingly my brain really vibed with it and I was able to crank this bad boy out over night! I hope you like it!

Link looked at the small velvet pouch in his hand. He hadn’t taken it out of the chest under his bed since he had put it there months ago, but now felt as good a time as ever to pull it out. He brushed off the thin layer of dust clinging to the fabric and opened it up, reaching in with his gloved hand and removing the crystal from inside.

The Shadow Crystal: the curse from Zant that had prompted him into action, and the last reminder he had of Midna. She’d given it to him with a wink, saying he might as well keep it “just in case”. The glassy crystal was the size of his hand, unnaturally warped and exuding a thick black mist. Cold leaked out of it and seeped through his glove into his hand, seeming to go right to his bones. If he wasn’t careful it could do some permanent damage to his hand.

Taking a deep breath, he held the crystal up to his forehead. It took effect almost immediately. He hadn’t transformed since Midna left, and the sharp, icy jolt that shot through him caught him off guard. He let out a yelp and quickly put the crystal back into its pouch before he fully transformed.

His vision blurred for a moment as his body melted into darkness. There weren’t really words to describe the transformation, but Midna had described it as his soul, which was used to the warmth of the World of Light, warping and adapting to the chill of the Twilight Realm. The magic, she had explained as she gave him the pouch, was only potent enough to change who he was on a physical level, not a spiritual level, so he was still himself, just in a new body.

When he came to on the floor of his room, he had fully transformed into his wolf body. He was disoriented but got over it quickly, standing up and shaking out his fur. His heightened senses barraged him with information, forcing heavy smells and loud noises into his consciousness until he got used to it. He took a few experimental steps, finding that walking was easier than he thought it would be. He used his snout to push the crystal’s pouch under the edge of his bed.

Leaning back on his haunches, he jumped up onto the bed, then tried leaping onto the other furnitured around his room. Once he was satisfied that his jumps were smooth, he ran around his room until he was fully in control of his body.

Now for the hard part: how did he get around the castle without anyone noticing?

His room was located in the soldier’s wing, across the castle from where he wanted to go. He recalled his mental map of the castle and planned out his route. His window opened to the courtyard where the soldiers trained, but at this late hour it would be practically empty, so it was much safer than the alternative of leaving through his door, which opened to a hallway that would be crawling with people milling in and out.

But that presented another problem. The soldier’s courtyard was fairly isolated, with sheer walls around it. There was a staircase he could climb to reach the top, then he would be at the top of the wall that surrounded the castle, but that was patrolled by the night shift and they were an observant group. They’d catch him in no time. 

He let out a low growl. He should have thought of that before transforming. What he should have done was take the crystal, transform somewhere closer to where he wanted to go, then just carry it with him. Too late now, and though he wanted to turn back into a human it was hard to open the pouch without hands, not to mention that would just waste time. He might as well just continue the way he was. He’d figure out the rest as he went.

The window was already open and Link slipped out with ease, his dark fur blending in with the shadows the moonlight cast across the castle. The night air enveloped him and he felt a strange serenity come over him. In his wolf form, he was a creature of the twilight, and being in the dark felt the most natural to him. The air was cold going in his lungs but it felt like fire.

Reinvigorated, he crossed the deserted courtyard to the staircase and climbed it. The wood creaked underneath him, but aside from that and the old shackle still around his leg, he made no noise. So far so good.

He kept his head low as he reached the top of the stairs. His body was still mostly in the shadows, but footsteps alerted him to an approaching soldier. They were coming right for the staircase; he had to act fast.

He spotted a ledge he could reach and jumped to it without hesitating. Thankfully the soldier made no indication that they had heard him. Now he was up on top of the castle wall, and had a pretty good view of the castle. Glowing lights leaked from open windows around the castle, making it seem as though the castle was glowing from inside. Lanterns were lit here and there along the wall, though they were sparse. They could provide the opening he needed. As long as he was careful, he could use the darkness to slip by undetected.

He continued along the edge of the wall, to the untrained eye looking like a black mass. The stone was hard on his feet but he pushed on, focused on reaching his goal. A few minutes of discomfort were worth it. 

His ears twitched at the sound of conversation ahead, more soldiers. He caught sight of them hanging out by the lantern, idly chatting about how boring the night shift was, completely unaware that he was only a few feet away from them. He was both grateful for and irritated by their lounging. He’d need to drill some more responsibility into them, but for now he’d take what holes he could get.

He crept past them, now nearing the south entrance. The guards were more dense here, keeping a watchful eye over the few people that drifted in and out of the castle at the late hour, mainly staff returning home for the night and off duty soldiers heading to the local taverns. He could attempt to blend in with the crowd, but all it would take is one person to scream and he’d be done for. Maybe he could cause a distraction, draw their attention somewhere else then use the chance to slip past.

He hid behind some boxes and waited until it was almost quiet before letting out a piercing howl. It echoed through the air and earned a few shrieks, sending the guards into a frenzy. They rushed around, trying to find the source of the howl while simultaneously trying to calm the anxious people. Seeing that the coast was as clear as it would get, he hurried from his hiding place and crossed the wall to the other side of the entrance, now on the west wall that would take him where he wanted.

His biggest problem now behind him, Link forged on through the darkness. His eyesight was much sharper as a wolf, allowing him to detect problems and figure out how to deal with them in advance. Several times, though, he was startled by a sudden loud noise and almost gave himself away; sounds like slamming doors, heavy footsteps, or jangling equipment. He had to bite his tongue to keep from accidentally yelping or exclaiming. Talking wolves weren’t supposed to exist, and if they caught him they’d suspect he was a criminal using magic to sneak through the grounds.

Eventually he made it to an empty courtyard, the cobblestone pathway that wound through it lined with flowers. The smell was overpowering and he paused to sneeze, hoping that he didn’t have some undiscovered allergy to flowers.

“Who’s there?” A voice called. It could be anyone, from a gardener to a guard, though the latter was much more likely.

Link tensed, instinctively looking around for a place to hide. A nearby bench provided enough of a shadow to conceal him and he dove for cover, barely fitting underneath it. Footsteps passed by and faded away until they were gone. He let out a small exhale and squirmed out of his cover, shaking off the dirt that the bench had left on him.

He followed the courtyard path to a smaller wall, one just barely short enough for him to reach with a powerful jump. There was a moment when his paws scrambled for purchase against the smooth stone and he nearly fell, but he quickly heaved himself up onto the wall before he could fall. His legs ached from the exertion, yet he continued on without stopping to take a breather. He would have time to rest later.

This wall led to another courtyard, and he jumped to another wall to climb higher. He reached the wall’s highest point and paused, looking around. He knew from his mental map that he was close, but he didn’t see the balcony he needed to jump to. He glanced around in a panic, noting that there were approaching footsteps and every second he spent paused was another second they could find him.

He turned to the side, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw the balcony. It was empty, the doors opened, but lights were on inside the room the balcony connected to. If he wasn’t quick getting inside someone would definitely see him.

Taking a deep breath, Link climbed on the edge of the wall and aligned himself to jump. It was a long shot, much longer than any jump he’d made so far, and if he missed the balcony he would go tumbling down to the area beneath. Not only would he get caught, but he’d be seriously injured as well. The jump was risky at best, and life threatening at worse. It wasn’t too late to turn back.

Before he could psych himself out any further, he backed away from the edge and took a running start to the jump, launching himself with all the strength he could muster. He braced himself for the impact and landed inside the balcony’s wrought iron railing with a thud, his legs jarring. They refused to move, locking in place, and he worried he would be seen. After a few heartstopping but uneventful moments, the pain subsided and he padded inside the room.

Here he was, the one place in the castle he definitely was not supposed to be in: Queen Zelda’s bedroom.

From what she had told him, her suite consisted of four main rooms, connected by doors: a drawing room, an office, a dressing room and bathroom, and a bedchamber. The only rooms he had ever been in were the ones that propriety dictated he could, the drawing room and office. Only her personal maids were allowed in the other two, and she had four or five of them at most. Aside from her late father, Link was probably one of the only men (and likely the only wolf) who had ever been in Zelda’s bedroom, and he felt a small thrill at the thought.

He wasn’t really surprised by what he saw. He knew Zelda to be frugal at heart, preferring simplicity where she could, unlike many of the other nobles he knew. The four poster bed was the main focus of the room, the silk sheets neatly made and the pillows lacking any unnecessary ornamentation, with nightstands on either side. Two large oak shelves, filled to the brim with keepsakes and old books, lined the wall across from the bed, a roaring fireplace between them. A plush couch sat in front of the fire, a couple of decorative pillows on top, and a thick rug covered most of the floor, a relief from the hard stone he’d been walking across. Doors to the other rooms of the suite had a place on each of the walls except for the one with the balcony doors, and handmade tapestries hung between them.

As Zelda had instructed, he moved to sit in front of the fireplace, out of sight of the doors but able to crawl underneath the couch at a moment’s notice. Heat from the fire scared away the chill of the night, and he was comfortable within seconds.

He didn’t hear any noise coming from any of the other rooms, which meant she was still away. He noticed lately that her duties frequently lasted until well into the night, far past the time a normal person would retire. It was concerning. For her sake as much as his he hoped she wouldn’t be much longer.

His eyes slipped shut and he took the time to rest, the adrenaline from his sneaking slowly wearing off but being replaced with more anxiety. He’d imagined being here more than once, but that didn’t change the fact that he was definitely not supposed to be here. Hell, he was jeopardizing his job every time they were alone in the same room, regardless of where it was in the castle. They’d been chatting after a council meeting in the meeting hall one day and rumors had gone around for weeks about the “secret affair” they were having. Having the audacity to come to her bedroom was practically asking to get fired.

The only reassurance he had was: one, he was in wolf form, and only Zelda knew about his ability to transform, so no one would recognize him; and two, she had personally asked him here. Another small comfort was that her room, aside from the balcony, was one of the safest and hardest to eavesdrop in places in the castle, so it would be very hard for someone to find out he was there. He said a silent prayer to Hylia that she would watch over them tonight.

Link was nearly asleep when he heard voices coming from the drawing room. He perked up, his ears straining to hear. The sound was muffled, but he recognized Zelda’s voice, commanding and regal. The voices moved to the dressing room, where she was likely preparing for bed.

Unbidden thoughts about the queen undressing made him bury his head under his paws in shame. He had no right to fantasize about her like that! Not only was she his sovereign, a position which automatically demanded his utmost loyalty and esteem, but also his close friend, and she deserved more respect than that. He pushed the thoughts away. 

They quieted down and he heard a door open then close. He tensed, prepared to duck under the couch, and when the door connecting the dressing room to the bedroom opened up, he fought the instinct to dive for cover.

“Oh, it looks like the fire’s still going,” Zelda said, her voice carrying clearly across the room. It was a prearranged signal, it meant that no one else was in any of her rooms.

They were alone. He tried not to let that get to him.

Link rose from his hiding spot and gave his fur a quick shake, hoping he looked presentable. Any exhaustion he had felt vanished, replaced with alertness and another feeling he didn’t want to name.

Zelda closed the door behind her and locked it before turning to face him. He gaped at the sight before him. She no longer wore her queen’s regalia, her jewelry and makeup, her layered dress and intricate hairstyle. Instead, her face was bare, her hair flowed freely over her shoulders, and a plush white robe covered her nearly from head to toe, the front open just enough to show off her collarbone. 

Quickly he dipped his head, both to properly greet her and to avoid staring at her. He knew he would be seeing her less formally when she invited him, but he didn’t fully comprehend what that meant until now.

He hadn’t expected her to look so human, and he hadn’t realized that he would enjoy it so much.

“Link,” she said fondly, breaking the silence, “you don’t need to bow, it’s just me.”

It was permission to look up. He kept his eyes down. “Sorry, it’s just a habit.”

Her soft footsteps crossed the room until she knelt on the rug in front of him. Gently she took his face in her hands and lifted it up to meet her gaze. He almost moved away, her touch was so sudden and improper he had to fight the instinct to flee to more comfortable territory. 

His fears began to subside when he studied her, however. A graceful smile adorned her lips and a playful light twinkled in her eyes. Seeing her eyes so closely, he almost wanted to wax poetic about how beautiful they were, like carved amethysts.

He needed to stop that train of thought.

“I know,” she said, scratching underneath his chin. The gesture was intimate and relaxing, shooing away the last of his doubts about being here. “But we’re friends, aren’t we? Friends shouldn’t focus on titles.”

“And if anyone found out I didn’t bow to my queen?” He asked, taking the chance to tease her. “I’d lose my job faster than you can say ‘friends shouldn’t focus on titles’.”

She rolled her eyes but her growing smile betrayed her. Her hand moved to behind his ear, and it took all of his willpower not to wag his tail at how good it felt. “I’m certain I could say it quite fast,” she said with a careless shrug, “but yes, I suppose rules like that do exist, though I do think they’re mainly to remind nobles of their place. It wouldn’t do for them to think themselves above me, now would it?”

If he didn’t know her better he might have thought she was being arrogant. Instead he chuckled. “Always the stone cold queen, aren’t you?”

She paused, her smile faltering. “My reputation precedes me, as always,” she murmured, though he sensed it was more to herself than to him. “It’s important that I maintain an air of absolute authority.”

The grief she felt was written all over her face. He knew she still blamed herself for the tragedy that had befallen Hyrule and its inhabitants during the Twilight Invasion, when Zant had threatened to force everyone under his control. Those were dark times for Hyrule, figuratively and literally, and the people had looked to Zelda to save them. When she hadn’t been able to, they scorned her, accused her of being a coward only concerned with her own safety, without ever seeing things from her perspective. 

Even now, after her tireless efforts to rebuild Hyrule, there were still people who doubted her ability to rule, and they were people with loud opinions in the court of public thought. Every opening she gave them, every crack in her composure or falter in her step was thrown back at her until it was just shy of total humiliation. Everything about Hyrulean politics was insane to Link. How could people be so ungrateful to someone who had devoted her life to helping them?

“Hey,” Link said, nudging her cheek with his nose as if he could chase away the negative thoughts with a touch.

“Hey yourself,” Zelda replied. Her voice regained some of its color, though a twinge of regret and sadness lingered. The cost of the crown she bore was not easily forgotten. She let out a long sigh and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t bother you with all that.”

He nuzzled his forehead against her arm and felt a surge of happiness when she leaned into the touch, resting her head on him. Her breathing was soft but he could feel it through his fur. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said honestly. “You have feelings; you shouldn’t have to hide them, and you definitely don’t have to hide them from me.”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “‘A good queen sets aside herself for her kingdom,’” she said softly. “Something my mother taught me.”

His stomach twisted, and he felt an indescribable anger bubble inside of him. What kind of person said that to their own child? “I’d like to have a few words with her about endangering her daughter’s health.”

She gave him a nonplussed look, something between amusement and confusion, with one eyebrow raised and her lips quirked upwards, until she looked up, off in the distance, her gaze becoming far away. “If you could talk to her, you’d find she’s a rather hard woman to bargain with. One of the reasons she was a good queen. Never one for compromise, things always always had to be her way, because she knew what was best.”

Her heavy words left a lot unspoken and a lot implied. She spoke so casually it would be easy to assume that she thought nothing of her mother’s strictness, and he almost did until he saw her smile wilt. 

“She knew what was best” in particular struck a chord in him. He lowered his head, feeling that anger again. It tightened around his heart. He imagined a young Zelda, turning to her mother for love and affection like all children do but earning only criticism and displeasure from a woman who could only see her as a future queen. 

Link didn’t remember much about his own mother aside from her warm smile and her kindness. She offered a helping hand to those who needed it, ready to aid at the drop of a hat. Maybe he was naive to think so, but he often thought that something akin to his mother’s compassion was more important in a ruler than cold stoicism. Better to have someone who could sympathize with the people than someone who dominated with an iron fist, a protector and defender of common men instead of an all powerful god who looked down on them.

But if he felt that way, how could he approve of Zelda as queen? From what she said, her current actions were a mirror of her mother’s, an exercise in authority and power born from the necessity to display strength following tragedy, and though he didn’t know much about the late queen, he was angry with her harsh treatment of Zelda. No one deserved such scorn, least of all someone who had experienced so much heartache over the course of her short life.

But who was he to label the actions of someone he never knew as wrong? For all he knew, if Zelda’s mother had been softer with her, she wouldn’t have been able to handle the post Invasion reconstruction as well as she had. No wait, he didn’t want Zelda to suffer, he…

He decided this was all over his head and shook his head. He believed with all his heart that Zelda deserved all the world had to offer her, and he would be damned if he thought for a moment that her suffering had been worth it.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Link placed his head on Zelda’s shoulder, encouraging her to lean into him. She sounded like she could use a good hug right now.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his fur. She wouldn’t cry, she never did, but her shuddering breath and her hands clinging to his fur for dear life said all he needed to know. 

“She may not have been the best mother,” she whispered, voice hoarse, “but she cared about Hyrule, and without her I… I would be weak. Let’s leave it at that.”

She pulled away from him and brushed the unshed tears from her eyes, wiping her wet hands on her robe. As easily as she would change clothes, she replaced her despairing look with one of chagrin.

“Oh, look at me,” she lamented, chuckling mirthlessly and shaking her head. “I invited you here to spend time with you where we could be away from my life, and instead I ended up bringing work with me.”

“It’s alright,” he said. “Like I said, you have feelings and it’s okay to show them sometimes.” He dipped his head underneath her hand and laid his head on her lap, her robe tickling his nose. “Being the queen is your job, but it isn’t who you are.”

A faint smile spread across her lips. “Wise words. Maybe you should try being queen?”

“If it would make your life easier, I’d do anything for you,” he said, looking up at her with a solemn expression. 

Link meant the words with every fiber of his being. He was a hero. Protecting the people he cared about was his reason for living. If they were kidnapped by monsters or terrorized by demons, he was the one to answer the call, to step up and save the day. Not for any grand ideals, as much as he wished, but simply because he loved them, and their wellbeing was the world to him. He would pay whatever price necessary to keep the vulnerable safe.

Sitting there, with his head in her lap and his body full of emotions that confused him, he had an epiphany. The reason why he felt her pain so strongly like a knife through his heart, why he would walk through hell and back for her if she asked, why the thought of anything happening to her made him tense up, why her smile filled holes he didn’t know he had, why spending a single second with her could make any dark day brighter, why he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her no matter how he tried…

He was in love with Zelda. The realization flooded his mind with worry, about how he could mess up and ruin it, but also a firm sense of peace, strong enough to push aside his doubts. He loved her, and he would protect her.

She studied him intensely, her brow furrowed as if judging the sincerity of his words. For the first time since he met her, she looked hesitant and scared and confused, the lost little girl inside of her who had forgotten what love was like finally taking her chance to escape. In that moment the queenly persona she clung to like a lifeline was far away, in the depths of the ocean, stripped away to reveal an exhausted woman who, at the end of the day, was starved and deprived of basic human love simply for being born into royalty. She was so vulnerable, fragile like glass, and already cracks were forming in her composure, threatening to rip her apart at the seams.

He stood up and brought his head to her eye level, touching his nose to hers, and their breath mingled, filling the space between them with warmth. He held her gaze without wavering, letting her look deeply into him. “I’m here for you, Zelda,” he said softly, slowly. “And I promise that I will never leave you.”

She blinked once, twice, then a single tear streaked down her cheek, dripping down onto her robe. Then, like a dam breaking, all at once the rest of her tears came out. 

She clung to him, burying her face into his neck, sobbing against him with so much raw emotion, so much bitterness and sadness and and misery pain that his heart broke for her. Here was the strongest, bravest, most beautiful, most terrifyingly fierce woman in Hyrule, feeling nothing but emptiness and loneliness, emotions left to fester and rot for so long that now they consumed her. 

Her tears soaked his fur and her sobs wracked through his body. How he wished he was human, so he could take her in his arms and hold her against his chest and keep her there forever, protect her from the cruelties of her life and fend off her inner demons with the warmth of his embrace. But he tried as best he could to offer her reassurance, silently encouraging her to lean on him and helping her get comfortable. He laid still when she moved her head to a dry spot on his stomach, and put his paw on her arm as her cries continued.

Zelda tried to speak, but her words came out muffled and strangled. “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t need to say anything,” Link murmured, brushing away a strand of wet hair that clung to her tear stained cheeks. “Just let it out. You’re hurting so badly right now. I’m here for you.”

“Am I really so weak?” She asked. Her voice shook so much he almost didn’t understand her. “I should be stronger than this—I, I can’t be so helpless, I—“ She broke down again, curling up and hugging her arms against her chest. 

He shook his head. “You’re strong, you’re so strong, Zelda,” he said. “But you’re not invincible. And that’s okay.”

She looked up from his fur, her face contorted in pain, tears flowing freely as she sniffled. “But I’m supposed to be,” she said quietly. “I’m supposed to be invincible. People expect me to be perfect, because I have so much riding on me. Any mistake I make could cost lives, and I couldn’t live with myself if more people died because of me. Just look at you.” She reached for his paw, where the old shackle still was, and ran her hand over the cold metal. “You suffered so much because I couldn’t face a threat. My responsibility, something I had been raised to do, my only purpose for existing, fell to you, someone who had the fate of the world thrown onto his shoulders without so much as a ‘I’m sorry’.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” he argued. “No one could have been prepared for Zant.”

She wiped away her tears with her now sopping sleeve. “But I should have been. I was a princess, and it’s the duty of the royal family to protect the common people—“

He shook his head fiercely. “You really think so little of yourself that you blame yourself for anything that happens, even if it couldn’t possibly be your fault?” He asked softly. “Where’s the good in that?”

Her mouth opened but no words came out. She looked at him helplessly, almost angry at being read so easily. She moved away from him, sitting closer to the fire and staring into the flames like she was contemplating throwing herself in.

“Zelda,” he said. “You don’t deserve that.”

“I do.“

“You don’t,” Link repeated, louder and firmer this time. “You deserve nothing less than the entire world, Zelda.”

She turned back to him. “How can you say that?” She demanded, her words going cold. Her eyes had dried, and her vulnerability shifted into frustration. She wasn’t the kind of person to raise her voice, but she looked like she might, and that terrified him. “You should be angry with me, you should be furious with me, you should be like everyone else and despise me!”

“They hate you because they don’t understand you, Zelda,” he said, shaking his head. “They don’t know how hard you push yourself, how hard you work to be perfect, how much you keep your emotions locked away to avoid appearing weak! They know nothing about you!”

She scowled bitterly, but her watery eyes told a different story. “They know who I am. I’m the queen. I’m nothing without my crown.”

“And you believe that?” He asked. “You truly think that?”

She still refused to look at him. “What difference does it make what I think?” She said. “I exist for one reason and one reason only: to devote my life to Hyrule. If I fall apart in the process, it means nothing. All that matters is keeping Hyrule safe.”

Link stood and padded over to Zelda, sitting down at her side. “I understand that you want to keep Hyrule safe,” he said, struggling to keep his voice even, “really, I do. I feel the same way. Protecting the people is my duty as the hero chosen by the gods just as much as it’s your duty as queen. I know the weight of having everyone depend on you, I’m probably the only other person who does, Zelda. I lived that life for only a brief time, but I was so unprepared, it nearly killed me. Now I’m watching you have to spend the rest of your life trapped in my worst nightmare and it’s terrifying, but even worse, you seem to think you deserve it!” His voice rose with every word, bursting with emotion until he was on the verge of tears himself. “Don’t you know that it’s okay to want to be happy?”

She reached to touch her cheek like it stung from being slapped, and when she pulled her hand away she stared at it like it was covered in blood. 

“I’m a hero chosen by the gods,” he said, moving in front of her and nudging her cheek with his nose, prompting her to look up at him. When she met his gaze, her eyes sparkling despite the tears pooling in them, he continued. “At first I had no idea what that entailed. I only wanted to keep my friends safe. I didn’t really care about anything else until suddenly, I was forced to. I was bitter about that for a while, like why me? Why did I have to bear the weight of the world on my shoulders? What had I done to deserve such a punishment?”

She sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve before untying her robe and letting it fall to the floor. Underneath she wore a dark navy nightgown, the same color as the cloak he’d seen her in the first time they met. It struck him as oddly symbolic; he’d seen her then, hidden behind so many layers like she hoped to hide from her problems, and now, she bared herself to them, waiting for them to come to her. Like an animal that had already accepted death and simply awaited the predator’s killing stroke.

“But I think I know now,” Link said, his words slowly becoming more optimistic, more eager. “Only people who have gone through the same hell and carried the same heavy burdens can truly understand each other. Just like you said that Midna crossing through the Mirror was fate, I think that our meeting, Zelda, was fate.”

He looked to her, trying to read her face for any emotion. He hadn’t expected to get all preachy like that, and now he felt embarrassed by his boldness. He shouldn’t have said that, he should have done something else to comfort her, it was foolish of him to assume that he knew what she felt, he—

But then she smiled, and all of his worries melted away. 

A breathtaking, genuine smile that wrinkled the corners of her eyes and tugged the corners of her lips so high they seemed like they were reaching for the heavens. The fire danced in her eyes, making them look brighter, more vibrant. Color returned to her face, a pale rose spreading over her nose and cheeks that made her look angelic. Traces of her earlier sadness lingered still, like her slumped shoulders, and a few tears escaped her, along with a small hiccup, but goddesses above, she was smiling, and she had never been so beautiful.

“Fate?” She murmured, tasting the word. She brushed away her tears and cleaned her hand on the edge of her nightgown. 

He nodded.

She let out a soft sigh, her eyes slipping shut, her chest rising and falling with the motion. “That… I think I can believe that.”

He leaned towards her and she embraced him, holding onto him like it was the first time she’d ever held anyone, and they stayed like that until the fire died low in the fireplace, though neither noticed the cold.

**Author's Note:**

> The reason why Link kept complaining about the stone is bc in TP if you talk to the dogs in Castle Town as wolf Link they complain about the stone ground being hard on their feet and I thought it’d be neat to have Link experience it as well :P
> 
> aight see ya, ima go give zelda a hug and apologize for being so mean to her lmao, thanks for reading (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)


End file.
